Here are the updated Big Country girls basketball playoff pairings and results (through Feb. 19):
GAME STORY: Wall uses big second half to overcome Tolar (box score included)
February 21, 2026
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GAME STORY: Eula’s depth powers Lady Pirates past depleted Hamlin in area round
February 21, 2026
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Big Country Preps Preseason Softball Position Rankings: Utility Players
February 20, 2026
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GAME STORY: Fast start, freshman Watts propel Santo girls to comfortable win over Haskell in area round
February 20, 2026
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GAME STORY: Gordon uses aggressive defense to eliminate troublesome Aspermont
February 20, 2026
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GAME STORY: Comanche girls end their Jim Ned roadblock with 46-44 area win
February 20, 2026
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Big Country Preps Preseason Softball Position Rankings: Outfielders
February 19, 2026
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FINAL Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders for 2026: Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks
February 19, 2026
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Big Country Boys Basketball Standings (Final)
February 19, 2026
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Big Country Preps Preseason Softball Position Rankings: Infielders
February 18, 2026
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BAIRD — After watching his team suffer through an ice-cold start in Friday’s Region I-3A DII area round game against Tolar, Wall girls basketball coach Silas Chrysler called a timeout at the 4:24 mark of the first quarter, trailing 11-2.
However, his message to his players was far less tactical than it was soothing, giving them a moment to collect themselves. It worked. In fact it worked so well, that by the end of the quarter the Lady Hawks had cut the gap to 12-9 and eventually won, 58-42 at the Baird High School Gym.
Jewels Johnson scored 22 points and hit two 3-pointers and Katherine Lewis added 11 more points with two 3s to lead top-ranked Wall (33-3), which now advances to face No. 3 Idalou in the regional semifinals.
Tolar was led by Jaycee Jones with 18 points and Macy Price with 11. The Lady Rattlers finished their season at 24-10.
“We’ve been here before,” said Chrysler when asked what he told his players during that early timeout. “We’ve been in several games where our shots weren’t falling.
“So I told the girls, ‘if it’s 11-2 or 12-4 it doesn’t matter. Just continue to chip away at this. I knew that it was only the first quarter and there was a lot of basketball to be played.”
ANSON — The third-ranked Eula girls basketball team had no problems continuing its postseason run with a 58-28 win over Hamlin on Friday in a Region II-1A Division I area-round game at Tiger Gymnasium.
All 12 players on Josh Fostel’s roster saw plenty of playing time in the win, including four call-ups from the junior varsity, while the Lady Pipers played most of the game without a bench after junior Najely Hernandez aggravated a knee injury that was suffered in Hamlin’s playoff opener in the first quarter.
The depth advantage allowed the Lady Pirates to pull away starting in the second quarter as Eula’s defensive pressure left Hamlin’s five remaining players visibly struggling.
After recognizing the top pitchers, catchers, infielders and outfielders that the Big Country softball scene has to offer, we close our position rankings series with a celebration of versatility.
For the final installment in our five-part series, we take a look at the top utility players, ranking our top-10 multi-position standouts to watch in 2026.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through these lists and encourage you to come back next week when we’ll feature the top baseball players in the Big Country.
CLYDE — The Santo girls basketball team started fast and never let up Friday in cruising to a 49-34 win over Haskell in a Region II-2A Division II area-round matchup at Bulldog Gym.
Led by freshman guard Aubrey Watts, who scored seven of her game-high 20 points in the opening quarter, the Lady Cats grabbed a 14-2 lead by the start of the second period and never saw that advantage shrink below 11 points the rest of the way.
The thorough victory, which saw the gap grow as large as 23 points in the fourth quarter, improved coach Nick Hatten’s team to 22-12 and extended the Lady Cats’ best season in more than a decade into the region semifinals, where they’ll face off with the winner of Honey Grove (30-4) and 20th-ranked Simms Bowie (27-7) next week.
ABILENE — Call it a tale of two halves.
For 16 minutes — two full quarters, — 17th-ranked Aspermont went toe-to-toe with top-ranked, undefeated Gordon and trailed by two at the break. Then it happened: The game did a virtual about-face with Gordon stymying the Lady Hornets in the third quarter en route to a 53-37 win in a Region II-1A DII area round game at Hardin-Simmons University.
Grace Garnett scored a game-high 18 points with five 3-pointers to lead Gordon (32-0), which now advances to face either Robert Lee or Grandfalls-Royalty in the regional semifinals.
Aspermont (32-5) was led by Emilee Silva with 12 points. Maleah Hecht and Matti Polk had seven each.
BROWNWOOD — The fourth time proved to be the charm for the Comanche Maidens.
After being eliminated from the Class 3A girls’ basketball playoffs by Jim Ned the last three years, the Maidens fought off the Lady Indians 46-44 in Thursday night’s Class 3A Division I area game at the Brownwood Coliseum.
Comanche (22-10) advances to play the Shallowater-Denver City winner in next week’s regional semifinals. Jim Ned, which had to replace its entire starting lineup and coaching staff from last season, finished 19-14.
Senior J’Lee Salinas, who rallied Comanche from a brief 43-42 deficit with three free throws in the final 3:18, scored 18 points. Senior Kaysi Wilcox added 16 points for the Maidens.
After spending the first three days of our softball position rankings series in the dirt, we move the grass for Day 4.
For the penultimate installment of our five-part series, we take a look at the top outfielders in the Big Country, ranking our top 10 with others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 19. With the end of the regular season, this will be the FINAL boys basketball leaders we post this year.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
After highlighting the top pitchers and catchers on the Big Country softball scene the past two nights, it’s time to turn our spotlight to the field.
For the third installment in our five-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 infielders in the area for the 2026 season.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below.
The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Brock-Levelland girls basketball (65 images)” →
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Wichita Falls Legacy boys basketball (63 images)” →
The Abilene High boys basketball team began and ended its Senior Night in celebratory fashion Tuesday at Eagle Gym, overcoming a sluggish start and a spirited Cooper squad in between to earn a 60-44 win over its crosstown rival in its regular-season finale.
The Eagles, who had already locked up their first district championship since 2016, found themselves trailing for most of the first three quarters Tuesday. But a 29-8 run over the game’s final 11 minutes turned a potentially tenuous situation into a comfortable win, allowing coach Justin Reese to close the game with several senior reserves on the court.
The victory improved AHS to 20-11 on the season and closed out a 7-1 run through District 4-5A, making winners out of seniors Brooks Reese, Trae Shaw, Myles Osborne, Payton Shawver, Luke Jackson, Jeremiah Collins, Brenner Paul and Dylan Bardin in their final game on their home floor.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock in Tuesday night’s District 4-5A boys basketball regular-season finale between Wylie and Wichita Falls Legacy, a chant broke out among the Wylie student body reminiscent of one from the movie “Rudy.”
Only this time, it was “Mon-te! Mon-te! Mon-te!”
The chants were for Wylie senior Noah Montelongo, who rarely gets into games but is one of the biggest supporters of his teammates. One of three fourth-year players being honored on Senior Night, he had the ball in his hands to dribble out the clock in the Bulldogs’ 57-35 win.
COLORADO CITY — For the better part of three quarters, the Roscoe girls were able to use their quickness to maintain a slim lead over Sterling City in Tuesday’s Region I-2A DI bi-district game at Colorado City High School.
There was just one problem: The much-larger Lady Eagles were continually pounding the offensive glass and gradually erased a nine-point second-half deficit to come away with a 51-46 win.
Avery Clark scored 16 points, Charley Jo Wilson had 14 points and nine boards and Christina Geary had 13 points and nine boards to lead Sterling City (23-9), which trailed 31-22 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
The Lady Eagles now advance to face Smyer in the area round.
Roscoe finished its season at 21-11, led by Ava Burrell with 19 points and Chasity Rangel with 12.
After kicking off our softball position rankings series on Monday with the pitchers, we now shift our attention to their battery mates.
For the second installment in our five-part series, we rank the area’s top 10 catchers with others to watch for in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list.
Goldthwaite photos contributed by Terry Thompson
COMFORT – The three bullies of Class 2A Region IV girls’ basketball – the San Saba Lady Dillos, Goldthwaite Lady Eagles and Mason Cowgirls – began their farewell tour in typical dominating fashion in bidistrict games Monday night.
San Saba beat Charlotte 70-19, and Goldthwaite beat La Pryor 77-29 at Comfort. Over at Junction, No. 2-ranked Mason beat Brackettville 88-16.
The three bullies – all members of District 29-2A – have combined to win six of the last nine Region IV-2A championships, including a sweep last year in the first season of Division I and Division II playoff brackets. San Saba won the Region IV-2A Division I championship last year while Goldthwaite edged Mason in overtime for the Region IV-2A Division II title.
In 2024, Goldthwaite beat San Saba in the regional championship game.
MERKEL — In a game that saw a number of extended runs both ways, the No. 3 Eula girls basketball team had the biggest and most pivotal one Monday at Badger Gym, using a 20-5 surge through the second quarter to nab the lead for good in a 52-38 bi-district win over Westbrook.
The Lady Cats had a 13-0 run in the first quarter and an 8-0 spurt spanning the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth. But coach Jeff Bontrager’s team never got closer to the lead than nine points after halftime thanks to the Lady Pirates’ big second period.
The win, which saw Eula stretch a 15-point halftime lead to a game-high 19 points with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, advanced the Lady Pirates (34-2) to the area round of the Region II-1A Division I playoffs, where they’ll take on Hamlin (15-18) later this week.
MERKEL — The fourth-ranked Hermleigh girls basketball team kicked off its playoff run in dominant fashion Monday, cruising past Baird 73-39 in a Region II-1A Division I bi-district game at Merkel High School.
The Lady Cardinals outscored the Lady Bears 26-12 in the opening quarter and spent the next three periods adding to that advantage to earn an area-round matchup with the winner of Tuesday’s bi-district game between Munday and Rotan.
Hermeigh, which had four players reach double figures scoring in the victory, knocked down nine 3-pointers as a team in improving to 32-2 on the year.
BAIRD — The third-ranked Brock girls basketball team scored the first seven points of the game and never looked back to open the postseason with a 64-35 win over Levelland in a Region I-4A Division II bi-district game Monday night at Baird High School.
Led by Laney Hudson with a game-high 17 points, the Lady Eagles saw 10 players score in the game and hit nine 3-pointers to advance to play Krum (20-16) at 6 p.m. Thursday at Saginaw High School.
Brock coach Alex Stephenson was happy with what he saw in what he called a “total team effort” as the Lady Eagles picked up their 12th straight victory and 15th win this season by at least 23 points.
Aside from being a traditional area area power in softball, the Clyde Lady Bulldogs are known for getting off to fast starts every spring and quickly establishing the fact that they’re a team to be reckoned with.
But this year, with freshman pitcher Brynli Reynolds making a major splash, Clyde is not only good, it’s scary good.
At this point, the Lady Bulldogs are 3-0, with wins over good teams from Hawley (8-1), Littlefield (10-0) and most recently, over three-time defending 3A state champion Coahoma (7-0).
Reynolds, who has taken our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, tossed a no-hitter in the Hawley win. And in 21 innings of work last week, she allowed only one earned run on seven hits with — get this — 51 strikeouts. Yes, you read that correctly.
With the softball season kicking off last week, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact throughout the Big Country Preps coverage area in 2026.
For the first installment in a five-part series that will cover all position groups on the area softball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s top pitchers, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this spring.
We hope you enjoy reading through our list.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Cooper boys basketball (52 images)” →
Ballinger coach Nathan Riggan spent the summer worrying about who was going to replace three-year starter Matilda Galvan at point guard.
The answer came about a week before school started when he got called down to the front office to meet Ballinger’s new student.
Ysée Le Borgne was a 6-foot-1 foreign exchange sophomore from France. Not only had she played basketball since she was 3 years old, but both her parents played and coached at a high professional level.
“Once she came out on the court that first day and I saw her handling the ball, I said, ‘There’s my point guard,’” Riggan said. “She’s everything for us. She’s our best defender, shooter, she can shoot from outside and she averages 3.4 blocks per game. She’s everything you’d want in a basketball player.”
Photos contributed by Lyndel Moody of Coahoma ISD

The Coahoma girls’ basketball team lost just one senior from last year’s 26-5 team that reached the Class 3A Division II regional semifinals.
With a returning cast that includes veterans Madi Renteria, Bree Lewis and Blakely Rodgers – plus the addition of impressive newcomer Addison Schmidt – the Bulldogettes finished the 2025-26 regular season 31-1 and appear poised for another deep postseason run.
“We’re still hungry, and we’re definitely looking forward to the playoffs,” second-year head coach Alyssa Peterson said Friday.
Coahoma, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll, opens the playoffs against Tornillo at 5 p.m. Monday at Monahans. The winner will advance to face the Slaton-Canadian winner in the second round later in the week. Coahoma blanket Tornillo in last year’s bi-district game 78-0 – and that’s not a typo.
The Bulldogettes enter the playoffs having won 27 consecutive games since their only loss – 57-26 to Cisco on Dec. 2. That includes tournament championships at Lubbock Roosevelt, Garden City and Jayton.
The win streak also includes a second consecutive 12-0 run through the District 3-3A schedule.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below.
The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Trailing Cooper by a point in the final minute on Friday, the Wylie boys basketball team closed the game on a 5-0 run to grind out a crucial 51-47 victory at Cougar Gym.
It was the second consecutive road win for the Bulldogs in which they faced a deficit in the closing minutes, clinching a playoff spot for coach Gregg Ruffin’s team while eliminating the Cougars from postseason contention.
Wylie led 33-22 at halftime only to see Cooper snag the momentum — and, eventually, the lead on Jabari Collier-Gard’s 3-pointer with 1:30 to play. But a 5-of-6 tally from the free-throw line and a couple of key stops in the final 43 seconds were enough to earn the Bulldogs the hard-fought victory over their crosstown rival.

STEPHENVILLE — The Brock Eagles finished Friday’s key District 6-4A boys’ basketball game with a 15-3 run — erasing a six-point deficit, forcing overtime and eventually overcoming the Stephenville Yellow Jackets 58-52 at Gandy Gym.
The win improved Brock’s record to 23-9 overall and 8-1 in District 6-4A. The Eagles will secure the district championship and No. 1 seed for the Class 4A Division II playoffs with a win Tuesday over Mineral Wells, which hasn’t won a district game.
“It’s been a battle,” Brock coach Zach Boxell said of the 6-4A race. His Eagles lost 74-59 to Glen Rose and trailed the Tigers halfway through the district schedule.
“We knew coming in here to Stephenville tonight with a big crowd that it was going to be hard to get a win. Being in a tough district should help prepare us for the playoffs,” Boxell said.
Stephenville lost at home for the first time in 13 games in Gandy Gym this season. Despite Friday’s loss, the Jackets (28-4, 6-3) still secured a Class 4A DI No. 1 seed because Graham (4-5) lost against Glen Rose.
“Our crowd was awesome. I wish we could have gotten a win for them,” said Stephenville coach Drew McDorman, whose Jackets began this week with a 63-37 home win over Glen Rose. “I told the kids that, when you beat good teams, people will show up to see you play.”
MERKEL — Sweetwater boys basketball coach Dillon Gainey said he and his staff were sitting in the coaches office on Friday morning trying to draw up a way to steal points off the opening tip for their District 6-3A road game at Merkel.
It’s safe to say that the play they came up with worked better than anyone could have imagined.
Sweetwater’s Amare Arevalo didn’t even make an attempt to win the opening tip, letting Rayson Houston go uncontested for it, but Houston’s tap went directly to a Mustang and turned into a layup just three seconds into the game as the Mustangs led wire-to-wire in a 57-34 decision over the Badgers.

ROSCOE — With two-time defending Class 1A state champion Jayton coming to town to face 18th-ranked 2A Roscoe, Friday’s non-district boys game was bound to create a special atmosphere.
And it did just that, as the Jaybirds slipped past the Plowboys 58-54 in front of a raucous crowd at the Roscoe Collegiate Special Events Center.
Colt Gentry scored 21 points, Bode Ham had 13 and Sean Stanaland added 12 more to lead the top-ranked Jaybirds (18-3), who never trailed and maintained a shaky lead from the 4:33 mark of the first quarter until the final horn.
Roscoe (31-2), which remained within striking distance throughout the game, was led by Jarrell Best with 22 points and Aiden Brown with 18.
Both clubs walked away from the matchup feeling as though they had benefitted from it — especially with postseason play set to start on Feb. 23.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 12.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 12. This will be our FINAL girls stat leaders for 2026.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Glen Rose-Stephenville basketball doubleheader (45 images)” →
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wichita Falls Legacy-Cooper boys basketball (42 images)” →
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wall-Clyde basketball doubleheader (68 images)” →
STEPHENVILLE — With area rival Glen Rose paying them a visit on Tuesday, the Stephenville Honey Bees and Yellow Jackets made the most of the annual occasion by sweeping a varsity doubleheader at Gandy Gymnasium.
In the case of the Honey Bees (20-12, 5-5) their 30-19 win changed nothing in the way of playoff seeding. SHS remains a No. 2 seed and will face Wolfforth Frenship next week in the bi-district round. For the Stephenville boys, however, Tuesday’s 63-37 victory kept the Yellow Jackets (28-3, 6-2) in the hunt for a possible District 6-4A title.
The ‘Jackets will play host to league-leading Brock (22-9, 7-1) on Friday with a chance of grabbing a piece of the district lead.
The Glen Rose girls fell to 20-16 and 5-5; while its boys team slipped out of a first-place tie with Brock to 20-10 and 6-2. The Tigers, however, can still land in a three-way tie for first in the event of a Stephenville win over Brock.
Jaden Carrillo only had one field goal in the Cooper boys basketball team’s must-win matchup with Wichita Falls Legacy on Tuesday at Cougar Gym. But it was the most important bucket of the game in a dramatic 34-33 win for the Cougars.
With his team trailing by a point after a J’Quan Carroll free throw broke a 33-all tie with just under 17 seconds remaining in the game, the senior guard was given the keys to the offense when play resumed out of a timeout on the Coogs’ final possession. With time ticking down, he drove around and past Legacy’s Jerimiah Smith, going all the way to the rim for a go-head layup with 2.9 seconds to play.
That proved to be the game-winner for Cooper (13-13 overall, 2-4 in district), which rallied from a 27-13 third-quarter deficit to score the victory, pulling within a half-game of Legacy (9-19, 3-4) and Wichita Falls Memorial (14-17, 3-4) for third in District 4-5A and within a game of Wylie (12-13, 3-3) for second.
CISCO — With the playoffs being split into Division I and Division II, not all-late season basketball games have the high-stakes feel that they’ve had in the past.
That wasn’t the case on Tuesday night at Ray Saunders Gymnasium, where Stamford visited Cisco for a crucial District 10-2A matchup.
The hosts jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first half but couldn’t hold off a fourth-quarter rally as Stamford all but clinched the district runner-up spot with a 50-44 win.
Comanche senior J’Lee Salinas is no stranger to BCP accolades, having already won our Player of the Week award as well as being named to our All-Big Country Preps team.
Well, she’s done it again after helping Comanche sweep district mates Millsap and Peaster — taking our Player of the Week award for the week ending Feb. 7.
Salinas had a solid week with a double-double in a win against Millsap (83-27), finishing with 24 points,10 rebounds, four assists and six steals.
Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.
Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Abilene High-Wylie boys basketball (60 images)” →
The boys basketball regular season is nearing its end, and district championship and playoff pictures across the area are coming into view.
Most leagues now have clear favorites in both their title and playoff races, but several remain unresolved with just two or three games left to play.
With just a couple of weeks of games remaining, let’s dive in and take a look at this week’s biggest games and last week’s most significant developments.